According to the American Heart Association (AHA), 5.7 million people in America have heart failure, a serious chronic condition. A healthy diet is one way to alleviate symptoms and slow the progression of heart failure. The AHA also recommends smoking cessation, weight maintenance or weight loss for overweight individuals, regular physical activity, stress management and blood pressure monitoring to maintain a healthy lifestyle.
Goals and Guidelines
A cardiac diet is another name for a heart-healthy diet. The National Women's Health Information Center (NWHIC) says the goal of a cardiac diet is to reduce the amount of plaque in the arteries. Plaque is a fatty substance that can narrow and harden the arteries, leading to poor blood circulation and increasing the risk of a heart attack or stroke. Cardiac diets also support normal blood pressure, triglycerides and cholesterol and according to the AHA can give a person more energy.
According to the Mayo Clinic, a cardiac diet contains less than 7 percent of calories from saturated fats, less than 1 percent of calories from trans fats and less than 300 mg of cholesterol per day. The AHA also recommends less than 1,500 mg of sodium (salt) a day for people with heart disease.
Foods To Eat
Fruits, vegetables and whole grains are good sources of fiber, which lowers cholesterol and blood pressure and induces satiety to prevent overeating. The AHA recommends eating a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables and limiting canned vegetables that have added salt.
Proteins such as poultry, lean meats, low-fat dairy products, egg whites, soy, legumes and beans contain fewer calories and fat. Excess calories and fat can lead to weight gain and obesity, which are risk factors for heart failure, high blood pressure and other chronic conditions. The AHA recommends eating fish twice a week because it contains omega-3 fatty acids, which lower triglycerides and reduce the risk of heart disease.
The best fats are unsaturated fats from olive oil, vegetable oils, trans-fat-free margarines, nuts and avocados.
Foods to Limit
Cardiac diets limit saturated and trans fats found in butter, lard, pork fat, coconut and palm oil, shortening, hydrogenated oils and cream. Individuals with heart failure should also avoid foods such as ice cream, sherbet, frozen desserts, cakes, cookies, doughnuts and mayonnaise because they are often made with saturated and trans fats.
Decrease sodium in the diet by cooking without salt, using salt substitutes, limiting processed foods, refraining from adding salt at the table and buying sodium-free canned goods.
The AHA says moderate alcohol intake is OK, which means one drink a day for women and no more than two drinks a day for men.
Cooking
Heart healthy cooking methods include baking, broiling, boiling, roasting, grilling, stewing, steaming and poaching. Decatur Memorial Hospital also recommends skimming the fat from sauces, soups and stews; draining fat from meat; and removing all visible fat and skin from meat and poultry. Reading food labels can help individuals identify which products contain the least amount of fat, sodium, cholesterol and calories.
Diet Plans
The NWHIC identifies four different eating plans that can help people with heart disease choose healthy foods. These include MyPyramid, Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH), Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes Diet (TLC) and the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute's Heart Healthy Diet. Individuals can use these diets to create personalized diet plans based on gender, age, weight, activity level and personal food preferences.
